Public Affairs Council 2017 Pulse Survey

Public Affairs Council 2017 Pulse Survey

1. Trump and Clinton Voters Agree: Washington Can t be Trusted Nearly two-thirds (63%) of conservatives say elected officials in Washington have low honesty and ethical standards, despite Republican control of the White House and Congress 2. Confidence in Major Companies is Low Only 47% of Americans trust major companies will behave ethically 3. Less-Trusted Industries More Likely to be Viewed as Under-Regulated Key Points Compared to other industries, technology companies are considered the most trustworthy and least in need of new regulations Pharmaceutical and health insurance firms are considered the least trustworthy and also the most under-regulated 4. Public Approves of Lobbying to Protect Jobs, Level Playing Field and Support Social Causes 61% approve of corporate lobbying to protect jobs, 54% to level playing field and 53% to support social causes 5. A Quarter of Americans Don t Approve of CEOs Serving on Trump Advisory Committees And 28% think serving on these committees is an active endorsement of the president 6. News about Business is Probably Bad Americans are more than twice as likely to assume a media story about a major company is negative than positive, and 17% say negative coverage is mainly a result of the media s anti-business bias. 7. Social Media has Limited Impact on Public Opinion of Major Companies 61% of young Americans (ages 18 to 29) say their opinions of companies are shaped by social media, compared to 45% of Americans overall Methodology This poll was conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of the Public Affairs Council from September 12-15, among a national sample of 2,201 adults. The interviews were conducted online, and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on age, race/ethnicity, and gender. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points. 1

Trump and Clinton Voters Agree: Washington Can t be Trusted Confidence in Major Companies is Low Less-Trusted Industries More Likely to be Viewed as Under-Regulated Public Approves of Lobbying to Protect Jobs, Level Playing Field and Support Social Causes A Quarter of Americans Don t Approve of CEOs Serving on Trump Advisory Committees News about Business is Probably Bad Social Media has Limited Impact on Public Opinion of Major Companies 2

Trump and Clinton Voters Agree: Washington Can t be Trusted 3

58% of Trump voters, 59% of Clinton voters, and 63% of conservatives agree elected officials in Washington have low honesty and ethical standards despite Republican control of Congress and the White House How would you rate the honesty and ethical standards of each of the following? Elected officials in Washington High honesty and ethical standards Average honesty and ethical standards Low honesty and ethical standards Don't know / No opinion Democrats 7% 25% 56% 13% Republicans 9% 28% 52% 11% Liberal 9% 25% 56% 9% Conservative 6% 23% 63% 8% 2016 Clinton Voter 6% 25% 59% 10% 2016 Trump Voter 7% 26% 58% 9% 4

More than half of conservatives and Trump voters hold unfavorable views towards the federal government Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the following? The federal government Total favorable Total unfavorable Don't know / No opinion Democrats 33% 59% 7% Republicans 46% 46% 8% Liberal 36% 59% 4% Conservative 40% 53% 7% 2016 Clinton Voter 30% 63% 7% 2016 Trump Voter 42% 52% 6% 5

Confidence in Major Companies is Low 6

Just over half of Americans (52%) hold a favorable view of major companies Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the following? Very favorable Somewhat favorable Not too favorable Not at all favorable Don't know / No opinion Small businesses 48% 39% 4% 8% Your state government 13% 36% 29% 13% 10% Major companies 10% 42% 29% 9% 10% The federal government 9% 27% 35% 9% 7

Only 47% of Americans have trust that major companies will behave ethically In general, how much trust and confidence do you have in MAJOR COMPANIES to behave ethically? 40% 37% 36% 10% 8% 8% 0% A lot Some Not too much None Don't know / No opinion 8

CEOs of major companies are seen as having nearly as low ethical standards as Washington elected officials How would you rate the honesty and ethical standards of each of the following? High honesty and ethical standards Average honesty and ethical standards Low honesty and ethical standards Don't know / No opinion Small business owners 41% 43% 5% 12% Employees of major companies who are not part of management 18% 56% 10% 16% People who work for federal government agencies that provide services, administer programs, or otherwise support national priorities 12% 47% 27% 15% Mid-level managers who work for major companies 11% 57% 17% 15% Elected officials in your state and local government 11% 41% 35% 13% CEOs of major companies 9% 33% 43% 15% Elected officials in Washington 7% 24% 55% 14% 9

Americans say the most important thing major companies can do for their communities and country is ensure employees are behaving ethically Here are some different ways major companies could help their local communities or the country as a whole. How important or unimportant is it for companies to take the following actions? Very important Somewhat important Not too important Not at all important Don't know / No opinion Make sure employees behave ethically 59% 22% 6% 3% 11% Minimize any negative impact the company has on the environment 54% 25% 6% 3% 11% Take a leadership role in helping society in ways that go beyond operating a business 44% 32% 8% 4% 12% Make financial contributions to charities 42% 34% 10% 3% 11% Encourage their employees to volunteer their time to help others 33% 37% 12% 5% 12% Offer to help government solve problems 29% 36% 15% 6% 15% 10

Americans like what they buy from corporations, but they re not impressed with business efforts on pay equity and social responsibility Do you think major companies are doing a good job or not doing a good job in the following areas? Generally doing a good job Providing useful products and services Serving their customers Serving their stockholders Creating jobs Contributing time and money to support their local communities Paying their employees fairly Protecting the environment Paying their top executives fairly, without overpaying them 61% 53% 47% 43% 35% 31% 30% 22% 11

Less-Trusted Industries More Likely to be Viewed as Under-Regulated 12

Technology companies are seen as the most relatively trustworthy major companies, while healthcare companies like insurers and pharmaceutical firms are seen as least trustworthy In your view, are the following types of major companies generally MORE or LESS trustworthy than other major companies? Less trustworthy More trustworthy Just as trustworthy as other major companies Don't know / No opinion Pharmaceutical companies 51% 13% 23% 13% Health insurance companies 47% 14% 27% 12% Banks and other financial institutions 37% 23% 28% 12% Energy companies 35% 32% 13% Automobile companies 31% 16% 40% 13% Large retail companies, both online and traditional stores 23% 19% 46% 12% Food and beverage companies 21% 25% 42% 12% Manufacturing companies 18% 24% 44% 13% Technology companies 18% 29% 40% 13% 13

Americans see pharmaceutical and health insurance companies, banks and energy firms as most under-regulated In your view, is there too much, too little, or the right amount of government REGULATION of the following areas or sectors? Too little government regulation on this The right amount of government regulation on this Too much government regulation on this Don't know / No opinion Pharmaceutical companies 44% 22% 14% Health insurance companies 40% 28% 13% Banks and other financial institutions 35% 22% 21% 22% Energy companies 33% 22% 24% Food and beverage companies 25% 21% 32% 22% Automobile companies 23% 22% 31% 24% Manufacturing companies 22% 23% 29% 26% Business in general 21% 29% 26% 24% Technology companies 22% 30% 27% Large retail companies, both online and traditional stores 19% 21% 32% 27% 14

Americans are extremely split on whether government regulation of business is necessary for the public good, or does more harm than good Which of the following comes closest to your view? 30% 29% 27% 28% 16% 10% 0% Government regulation of business is necessary to protect the public interest Government regulation of business usually does more harm than good Neither / Both equally Don't know / No opinion 15

Public Approves of Lobbying to Protect Jobs, Level Playing Field and Support Social Causes 16

Protecting jobs is seen as by far the most appropriate reason for lobbying while Americans are split on securing government funding or grants Do you consider each of the following types of lobbying by major companies to be acceptable or NOT acceptable? Yes, this is an acceptable form of lobbying No, this is not an acceptable form of lobbying Don't know / No opinion Protecting jobs at the company 61% 15% 23% Creating a level playing field with competitors here and around the world 54% 18% 28% Supporting social causes 53% 21% 26% Opening new markets for the company 48% 22% 29% Reducing business costs 47% 24% 28% Securing government funding or grants 37% 34% 29% 17

If average folks were CEOs facing tough regulations, most would contact their representatives and work with other companies to try to change the laws If you ran a company and were concerned about the impact of government laws and regulations on your business, which of the following actions would you be likely to take? Would you Personally contact your elected representatives to communicate your concerns 63% Find other companies with the same concerns and work together to try to change laws and regulations 61% Ask your employees if they are willing to contact their elected representatives to communicate your concerns 43% Make campaign contributions to elected representatives who agree with your views about laws and regulations 39% Hire a lobbyist to contact your elected representatives to communicate your concerns 24% Probably not take any actions and just leave laws and regulations the way they are 19% 18

A Quarter of Americans Don t Approve of CEOs Serving on Trump Advisory Committees 19

A quarter of Americans disapprove of CEOs serving on Trump advisory committees; only a third of Clinton voters disapprove, and only half of Trump voters approve Do you approve or disapprove of business CEOs volunteering to help the federal government by serving on special committees to advise the president? Strongly approve Somewhat approve Neither approve or disapprove Somewhat disapprove Strongly disapprove Don't know / No opinion Adults 14% 23% 24% 12% 12% 15% 2016: Clinton Voter 11% 21% 24% 16% 16% 11% 2016: Trump Voter 22% 28% 24% 8% 7% 10% 20

More than a quarter (28%) see CEOs serving on advisory committees as actively endorsing the president When business CEOs serve on a federal government committee, does this mean they are actively endorsing the president or that they are still able to hold independent political views? 40% 39% 33% 28% 0% Actively endorsing the president Still able to hold independent political views Don't know / No opinion 21

One-third (32%) of Americans and more than one-quarter (27%) of Trump Voters think CEOs serve on Trump advisory committees to get laws changed to increase their profits What do you think is the main reason a business CEO would volunteer to help the federal government by serving on a special committee to advise the president? To use their knowledge and experience to improve public policy To improve government services for average people To get laws changed to increase their profits Don't know / No opinion To keep the government from making mistakes To become more popular with the public None of the above Adults 6% 8% 9% 32% 4% 2016: Clinton Voter 18% 5% 7% 9% 42% 3% 16% 2016: Trump Voter 28% 7% 10% 8% 27% 2% 17% 22

News about Business is Probably Bad 23

When Americans see a media story about a major company they are unlikely to assume it is positive When you see a media story about a major company, are you more likely to assume it is a positive or negative story? 40% 35% 39% 15% 11% 0% Positive Negative Neither positive nor negative Don't know 24

Four in 10 Americans (39%) say they assume a positive media story about a major company is due to the firm reporting good news, but 13% say it results from the media s pro-business bias If the media story you see is POSITIVE, which of the following do you think is the most likely reason? 40% 39% 8% 13% 0% The company had good news to report Other people were saying good things about the company The company was probably not being honest about the news The media is pro-business so stories about major companies are mostly positive Don't know / No opinion 25

A third of Americans (34%) assume that a negative news story about a major company is due to the firm having bad news to report, but 17% say it results from the media s anti-business bias If the media story you see is NEGATIVE, which of the following do you think is the most likely reason? 40% 34% 26% 23% 17% 0% The company had bad news to report Other people were saying bad things about the company The media is anti-business so stories about major companies are mostly negative Don't know / No opinion 26

Social Media has Limited Impact on Public Opinion of Major Companies 27

Younger Americans are much more likely than older adults to form their opinions of major companies based on social media To what extent, if any, have the following helped shape your opinions of major companies? Social media such as Facebook or Twitter A lot of influence Some influence Not much influence No influence at all Don't know / No opinion Adults 14% 31% 25% 10% Age: 18-29 22% 39% 18% 9% 12% Age: 30-44 35% 24% 11% 10% Age: 45-54 12% 28% 30% 21% 10% Age: 55-64 10% 28% 30% 27% 5% Age: 65+ 4% 21% 26% 37% 11% 28